Mobile
by PhantomGirl1731
Summary: To write a simple summary, it's another story with my OFC Max...the first part is a tie-in to "In My Time of Dying" and part two is a tie-in to "Everybody Loves a Clown"
1. Chapter 1

**This was my first 2-parter for this series...basically I wanted one from the O'Reilly boys' perspectives. Hope you guys enjoy it :)**

**Oh, and as an author's note: I do not own the song "Mobile" from Avril Lavigne, nor do I own any of Jeff Dunham's material**

* * *

"**Mobile - Part 1: In My Time of Dying"**

_"I bet you were real proud of your kids too, huh?" Dean smirked to the man with the orange eyes. "Oh wait, I forgot. I wasted 'em."_

_The man looked down for a second, then looked back at Dean. _

_Suddenly, Dean cried out in pain. Blood began pouring from a wound in his chest, as though something had ripped into him with its claws. _

_"Dean!" Sam screamed. He and Max were pinned against the opposite walls, both calling Dean's name._

_"Dad! Don't you let it kill me!" Dean cried, his face contorted from the pain. _

"_Dean!" Max screamed. _

"_Dean, no!" Sam shouted._

_Dean's gaze never left the man in front of him, and he grew weaker from the blood loss. "Dad, please…" He whispered, blood dribbling out of his mouth as he spoke. . _

_Orange eyes finally faded to brown. "Stop," he said, wincing. "Stop it."_

_The psychic hold was still there, but Dean was slumped over, and blood dripped from his mouth. Sam was able to break free, and grabbed the antique colt from the table, aiming for center mass. _

_The orange eyes were back and focused on Sam, "You kill me, you kill daddy."_

_"I know," Sam said, and then he pulled the trigger. _

_The four were then in the Impala, speeding down a dark road with the radio blasting. _

"_I thought we saw eye to eye on this," John said in disappointment. "Killing this demon comes first, before me, before everything."_

_Sam cast a glance in the rearview mirror._

_Dean stared back at him, huddled against the door, his chin covered in blood. _

"_No sir," Sam said, meeting his brother's tired gaze, "Not before everything."_

"_Hey Sam?" Max asked, wincing as she did so. She was bleeding from a gash that ran down the side of her head. _

"_Yeah?"_

_Max looked like she was trying to find a sarcastic comment, but finally settled on, "Where do we go from here?"_

"_Look, we've still got the colt, we still have the one bullet left," Sam answered, "We just have to start over, all right? I mean, we already found the demon once—" The rest of his words were cut off by the sounds shattering glass. Metal crunched as the 18-wheeler T-boned the Impala, making the tires squeal as it was shoved off the road. _

_The music was still playing, loud and clear from the now crushed and almost silent Impala…_

"_Looks like we're in for nasty weather. One eye is taken for an eye…well, don't come 'round tonight, 'cause it's bound to take your life. There's a bad moon on the rise…"_

Luke O'Reilly shot up in his bed, gasping loudly. "God…not again…"

He'd had the first nightmare in December…New Year's Eve in fact. It had made the occasional repeat until March…it didn't occur to him that it was something to be concerned about…till now.

_Now_ it was September…_now _the nightmare made sense. That was why Max had gone to Manning, to meet up with the Winchesters…

_"John's found a way to kill the demon," She'd said. "All's we got to do is kill it, and it's over."_

"_How do you know it'll work?" Luke had asked, "The demon's smart, and damn near indestructible."_

"_First hand accounts say it works," Max replied. "When have you known the Winchesters to lie?" _

"_The name 'Hector Aframian' rings a bell," Luke answered. "And Agents Ford and Hamill…" _

"_Okay…not a good example," Max admitted. "Anyway, gotta go Luke, we're losin' daylight."_

_Luke was silent for a minute, "Be careful…all of you."_

"_When are we not?" Max asked. After a pause, she said, "Don't answer that!"_

Luke smiled in remembrance, then sighed as the smile faded, because as funny as that memory was, the possibility that his nightmare wasn't really a nightmare at all reared its ugly head.

"Dude, is it morning already?" Noah yawned from the other side of the room.

Luke checked the clock, "Two a.m."

"What the hell are you doin' up then?"

"Nightmare," Luke admitted.

"Another of those freaky déjà vu ones?" Noah asked.

Luke frowned, "I don't think so. It felt…different."

"Different?" Noah frowned, "Like, it's-the-future-I-can-see different?"

"Not exactly," Luke admitted, "More like…" He frowned, if he was right…he shuddered, not wanting to go down that road.

Noah sighed, and sat up, turning on a lamp, "Charlie…we got another nightmare."

"Again…?" Charlie groaned.

"No…Charlie…" Luke sighed, "I think I had a vision…"

"No," Charlie shook his head, "You couldn't have had a vision…there is no way you could've had a vision."

"Fine, it wasn't a vision," Luke rolled his eyes. "Look, I don't care what it was…I need to call Max."

"There's no reason to be draggin' Max into this," Noah spoke up.

"Vision or not…she needs to know," Luke insisted, "She was in it…and Dean...and Sam…and I think their dad…"

"What did you see?" Charlie sighed.

When he finished describing his nightmare, Charlie and Noah exchanged glances.

"I think I'll call Max," Charlie said, grabbing his cell phone from the bedside table.

* * *

"Max isn't picking up her cell," Charlie told them.

"Try Dean or Sam," Luke said.

"I already tried everyone four times!" Charlie said, "Nobody's answerin'!"

"That doesn't mean…" Luke frowned, "I mean, I could be wrong, right?"

Charlie frowned, "I don't think so, bud."

"Then we go help them!" Noah shot to his feet, Luke following suit.

"Do you know where they are?" Charlie asked, folding his arms.

"Salvation, Iowa," Luke said quickly.

"So, hypothetically, we'll say they're still there. How are we going to get there? Max took the _Falcon._"

"She was in the Impala!" Luke snapped. "She had to leave it behind somewhere!"

"So you think she left it in Salvation?" Charlie asked.

"Yes," Luke said. Then he frowned, "Maybe?" At Charlie's look, he sighed, "All right. Max wouldn't leave it behind."

"So maybe it wasn't a vision," Noah pointed out. "Maybe it was just a dream."

"Yeah," Charlie said, "Maybe they killed the demon."

"And they decided they were gonna go celebrate…and turned off their cell phones?" Luke suggested.

It was silent for a few minutes.

"All right, who here actually believes that?" Noah asked, sighing.

"So…my psychic power is the same as Sam's…" Luke sighed, folding his arms, and resting them on the bar, "That's original."

"Would you rather have Max's power?" Noah raised his eyebrows.

"Honestly, I'd rather have nothing," Luke admitted. "'Cause then I could get a good night's sleep once in a while…and I wouldn't be worried about seeing a trucker plow into the Impala at—"

"Dude, why would the demons wreck the Impala?" Noah whined. A beat of silence, then he hung his head in shame, "Oh dear god…"

"Yeah, the demon could've taken out four damn good hunters, but let's worry about the car," Luke snapped.

"Can we forget I said that?" Noah asked sheepishly.

Charlie rolled his eyes, "Look, we'll give 'em another hour, then I'll call Max. Then Dean, then Sam, all right?"

Luke was still throwing disbelieving looks at Noah, and Noah was still red in the face.

"Sure," Noah agreed, not meeting his gaze.

"Whatever," Luke said, shaking his head.

_Oh, this'll be fun, _Charlie sighed.

* * *

Early morning sunlight turned the walls of the apartment pink.

The three were now doing odd things to try and stay awake. Noah's head and shoulders were resting on the floor, while the rest of his body was draped over the bed. Charlie was lying in a similar fashion, except he snapped a rubber band on his wrist, however the amount of time between the snaps was increasing.

Luke's nerves kept him from finding sleep, though his head rested on the bar. He yawned, "Try them again…"

"Luke, he's tried them for the last four hours," Noah said, his voice groggy from the lack of sleep.

When the clock finally hit 7 a.m., Luke glanced at his brothers. Both, despite the fact they were lying in awkward positions, were fast asleep.

"My heroes," he muttered, rolling his eyes. His gaze traveled to the phone, which was lying on the counter across from him. "What's it gonna hurt?" He dialed the number slowly, and almost fell asleep listening to the ringing. His eyes were closed, not expecting anyone to answer, until he heard the click on the other end of the line, "Hello."


	2. Chapter 2

**Another author's note: I don't own anything by Bill Engvall either...**

Sam shook his head, getting his first look at the Impala since the crash, "Oh man…Dean is gonna be pissed."

He and Bobby walked toward the wreck, Sam going for the backseat, while Bobby lifted the hood. "Look, Sam…this just ain't worth the tow." He let go, and the bent metal landed then came off its hinges.

Sam grabbed the smashed laptop from the floor of the backseat, frowning at the pieces. He tried to open it, and the top cover came of completely.

"I say we empty the trunk and sell the rest for scrap."

Sam shook his head; "No…Dean would kill me if we did that." A muffled noise surprised him, then sent him back into the wreck. "When he gets better he's gonna wanna fix this!" He called to Bobby.

"There's nothin' to fix!" Bobby protested, "The frame's a pretzel, the engine's ruined—"

Sam finally located the source of the noise, surprised to find a cell phone ringing, sheltered by the crushed seats.

"There's barely any parts worth salvagin'—"

Sam got to his feet, "Listen to me, Bobby. If there's only one working part that's enough. We're not just gonna give up on 'er."

Bobby thought for a moment, gazing at the determined look on Sam's face. "Okay," He agreed. "And you'd better answer that."

Sam shook his head, then flipped the phone open, "Hello."

"Sam!" Luke said in relief.

"Luke…" Sam frowned, "What's wrong?"

"I should be asking you the same question," Luke said. "What's going on over there?"

"Uh…" Sam frowned, looking at the smashed heap of metal in front of him.

"Where's Max?" Luke asked. "Why didn't any of you guys answer when we called earlier?"

"Uh…Max…she's…Max's fine," Sam assured him. "Luke, hang on a sec," Sam handed a piece of paper to Bobby, "My dad wanted you to get this for him."

Bobby frowned, "What would John want with this?"

"Protection from the demon," Sam told him.

"The Demon's still _alive_?" Luke shouted. "I thought you went to waste the sucker!"

At the look on Bobby's face, Sam said, "I'll have Max call you later, Luke."

"Sam, wait—"

Sam closed the phone, "What is it?"

"Nothing," Bobby frowned.

"Bobby," Sam frowned, "What's goin' on?"

* * *

"Dude! He hung up on me!" Luke snapped.

Noah jerked awake, "What about monkeys?"

"Sam just hung up on me," Luke said clearly.

"You got a hold of Sam?" Charlie yawned.

"Kinda…" Luke frowned. "He answered Max's phone."

"So…you think Max will call?" Noah asked.

"Maybe…" Luke frowned. Then he got to his feet, "Well, I'm goin' to Max's apartment."

"What? Why?" Charlie asked.

"The computer's in there," Luke answered, heading for the door. "Gonna go grab it."

After the door closed, Noah frowned, "What does he need the laptop for?"

"I think we'll ask why later," Charlie sighed. "You know, this isn't a good sign, is it?"

"What?" Noah frowned.

"I mean, what is it with these psychics?" Charlie asked. "Max's a psychic, Sam's a psychic…now Luke's becoming a psychic."

"We don't…know…exactly," Noah stammered. He sighed again, "Okay, the Impala's wrecked, and Sam's the only one we've been able to get a hold of."

"We'll give 'em another hour before we try again," Charlie said, as Luke came into the room with Max's laptop under his arm. "So, what're you up to, Lucas?"

"Luke," He corrected, "And…I wanna go on a hunt."

His brothers were coming down the stairs, but froze and almost tripped.

"Come again?" Charlie asked.

"I wanna go on a hunt," Luke repeated. "There's gotta be something supernatural we can kill."

"He's delusional!" Noah said, "Max will kick our asses if we go on a hunt!"

"We don't know where Max is," Luke shrugged, "And, if we don't tell her, how's she gonna know?"

"Luke, she'll know," Charlie frowned.

"What is goin' through your brain, child?" Noah snapped.

"Well, what are we supposed to do?" Luke asked, "Nobody feels we deserve a phone call to explain the situation—"

The phone began to ring at that moment. Luke grabbed it, and barked into the phone, "What?"

"Inside voice, Luke," A tired voice groaned on the other end. "I've got a splitting headache…plus speaker phone…don't want people sticking their heads out of the doors…"

"Max," Luke smiled. "What happened? Is everyone okay?"

"Car crash," Max said, but she sounded distracted. "Hold on."

"Max, wait—" Luke shouted, but she wasn't talking to him.

"Sam?" Max was asking.

The response was mostly silence.

Luke sighed, and struggled to hear what was going on. He could've sworn he heard a voice.

"What is it?" Noah asked, "You've got that, 'I'm about to have a brilliant answer' face."

Luke held up his hand, he knew he heard something…

_"…Gotta hunt this thing…Sam?" _

The voice was faint…he could barely understand the words…

"You're quiet." That had to be Sam and Dean's father, John. Luke remembered the voice from the vision.

Something made a flopping noise, and Sam snarled, "Think I wouldn't find out?"

"What're you talkin' about?"

"That stuff from Bobby, you don't use it to ward off a demon, you use it to summon one! You're planning on bringing it here, aren't you, having some stupid, macho, showdown!" Sam's voice grew louder as he spoke.

"I have a plan, Sam."

"That's exactly my point! Dean is dying, and you have a plan!"

Luke could hear Max saying, "Sam, calm down!"

"Max, stay out of this!" Sam snapped, then shouted, "You know what? You care more about killing this demon than you do saving your own son!"

"What the hell is going on over there?" Luke wondered aloud, as he heard the odd, phantom voice, slightly louder, _"No, no, no, guys don't do this!"_

"Do _not _tell me how I feel! I am doing this for Dean!" The other voice shouted.

"How? How is revenge gonna help him? You're not thinking about anybody but yourself, it's the same selfish obsession!"

_"Come on, guys, don't do this!" _The phantom voice repeated, coming in clearer this time, despite the shouting match.

"It's funny, I thought this was your obsession too!" The screaming nearly drowned out the phantom voice. "This demon killed your mother, killed your girlfriend! You begged me to be a part of this hunt! Now, if you'd killed that damn thing when you'd had the chance, none of this would've happened!"

"It was possessing you dad, I would've killed you too!" Sam roared.

"Yeah, and your brother would be awake right now!"

_"Shut up! Both of you!"_

"Go to hell."

"That's a way to talk to your father," Luke muttered, rolling his eyes. _And who the hell is in there with them?_

"You know what? I never should've taken you along in the first place, I knew it was a mistake! I knew I was wrong—"

_"I said shut up!"_

Something shattered in the background, bringing the shouting match to an abrupt end.

After a few minutes of silence, the phantom voice sounded stunned, _"Dude, I full-on Swayzed that mother…" _

"Wait a minute…" Luke frowned; realizing something about the phantom speaker…_Isn't that Dean? _"Max!" He called, "Max!"  
Max's voice suddenly came back, "Sorry…I kinda got…sidetracked."

"What the hell's goin' on Max?" Luke asked, "What's wrong with Dean?"

"He's…" Max began, then sighed, "Look, Luke, I have to go."

Luke rolled his eyes, "Of course." He ended the call, and tossed the phone onto the table. "Well, that was useful."

* * *

"Mail call…" Charlie said, holding up an envelope. "Oh, lip-gloss—"

"And that would be mine!" Noah said, grabbing the small envelope.

"Chelsey send you more pictures of her on the beach in a bikini?" Luke asked, not looking up from his Game Boy.

Noah frowned, "Maybe."

Luke sighed and rolled his eyes.

"What're you doin'?" Noah then asked.

"To quote Bill Engvall," Luke said, "I gotta get Scooter to level nine."

"Actually," Charlie said, looking over his shoulder, "Hunter here's trying to steer Agent 9 through the world where he must gather all gems and avoid the Rhynocks."

"Shut up," Luke scowled.

Noah walked upstairs to open his letter.

Charlie went through the rest of the mail, "Hey, one from Mia!"

Luke groaned, "Do you guys wanna go compare notes or something?"

"Jeez, Luke," Charlie said, holding up his hands in defense, "Just 'cause you don't have a girlfriend doesn't mean we have to be alone as well." He too headed up the stairs, leaving Luke downstairs, steaming and still playing his Game Boy. "Damn…what's his problem?"

"Sounds like he jumped on his menstrual cycle," Noah smirked, "You know, as Walter would say, _'nag-de-nag, nag, nag, nag, nag, nag, nag, biiiitch, bitch-biiiiiitch—'_"

"I heard that!" Luke snapped. The next sound they heard was the door slamming.

"Okay…maybe that was a little too harsh," Charlie grimaced.

Luke stalked up the rest of the stairs, opening the door to Max's apartment, and locking it behind him. "Silence…is…" He paused for a few seconds, "Bronze…"

He walked down the steps to Max's living room, and grabbed her stereo remote, located along with all other remotes in the wooden table organizer thing. Max might not be a neat freak, but she had to have her things organized a certain way. Whether it came to her remotes, or her shoes, there was a method to the madness. Everything had to be stacked, or organized numerically. Whether they got to their proper place was always a coin-toss situation, but when they did, everything was organized in a specific way.

Getting off of that train of thought, Luke pressed the 'play' button, sighing when he heard Avril Lavigne coming out of the speakers.

"Oh well…it's Max's apartment, not mine," he shook his head, going back to his Game Boy. "Something good will come on eventually."

He recognized the song as "Mobile"…one which Max played often, and would sing along to. Of course, none of them were supposed to know she sang along, she never sang when she knew people could hear her.

"She can kick demon ass with the best hunters around," Luke shook his head, "But ask her to sing in public, and you'll have her runnin' scared."

_"Everything's changing, when I turn around, all out of my control, I'm a mobile…"_

"Never a truer statement," Luke rolled his eyes.

_A flash to a hospital room…Dean was dressed in hospital scrubs, and his arms were covered in cuts, along with stitches on his forehead. _

_He looked like he was in pain, and he cradled his right arm against his chest. As he sank to his knees, he began flickering, "What is it…?"_

Luke blinked, and his game was back in front of him. "That was weird…" He rubbed his temples, "And freakin' painful…"

_Another flash…_

_Sam and Max stood in the doorway to another hospital room, Sam looking ready to fall apart, and Max stood rigid, her eyes wide with shock. _

_The doctors called out orders, rushing about in an organized chaos. They stood over Dean, while the monitors attached to him wailed due to flat-line. _

_Dean then limped into sight behind the two in the doorway, gazing into the room. Something pearly white and transparent floated over his bed, trying to reach for him. _

_"You stay the hell away from me!" Dean shouted, dodging around Sam and Max to get into the room, "Get back!" _

Luke gasped, eyes wide, and he rolled off the sofa. "God…what the hell…?" He put his Game Boy on the table, and tried to get to his feet.

He was gripping the armrest of the sofa, when yet another vision hit. He lost his grip, and fell to the floor.

"_When you're stressed, those shields are weaker," A brunette girl shook her head sadly. "The more stress that you get, the weaker the shields get. And someday Max, those shields are going to collapse, and you're not going to be able to build them up again." _

_"I can take care of myself," Max growled. _

_Yet another flash, back in the hospital room…_

_Unnoticed by the others, Max's nose began to bleed. She looked at the floor, breathing deeply, muttering to herself. _

_"I said get back!" Dean roared at the thing floating above him, and his voice seemed to echo, and gain Sam's attention. Dean's focus was on the thing floating above his body, and he tried to grab it. An unseen force threw him into the wall, and the thing glared at him before floating out of the room. _

_"We've got a pulse!" A nurse announced, "We're back into sinus rhythm."_

_Sam sighed in relief; glad his brother was going to live…for now at least. _

_"Everyone has a trigger, Max." The brunette girl's voice echoed._

_"Miss?" The doctor turned to Max, "Miss, you're bleeding."_

_Sam gripped her shoulder, and turned her around, and frowned at Max's glazed, unfocused eyes. "Max…say something!"_

_Max looked at him and gave a grim chuckle, despite the blood that dribbled out of both nostrils, and started staining her shirt red. "Dean says don't worry, he's not goin' anywhere…" _

_Then Max's eyes rolled up into her head, and she fell to the floor, going into convulsions. _


	3. Chapter 3

Luke remained on the floor, gasping for breath, and wincing from the massive headache that sprang up from the multiple-vision-whammy. When he was sure that no more visions would hit, he got to his knees, wincing at the head rush. When the room returned to its normal color, he slowly got to his feet.

"God…how does Sam deal with this?" Luke grimaced, rubbing his forehead.

He made his way toward the kitchen, opening one of the cabinets. He pulled out the bottle of Advil, and popped two tablets in his mouth, then walked over to the sink, filled his cupped hand with water, and swallowed them.

Now Luke sat, face down at the bar, resting his forehead on the cool surface. His hand scrambled for the cordless phone, and through his headache, he tried to remember Max's cell phone number. Not that he expected an answer, what with the fact that he'd just seen her collapse and have a seizure.

"Talk to me."

Luke's head shot up. "Max?" He asked, surprised.

"That's what they call me," Max's voice replied.

"Max…I just had…a vision…"

"Great," Max said brightly. "You've received your first head-splittin' migraine with pictures! Mazel tov."

Luke frowned, "Uh…right…" He could tell something was off…he couldn't put his finger on it…but something wasn't right. "Max…are you feelin' okay?"

"Never better, why?"

"No reason I guess…" Luke said, shuddering. "I keep having visions of you."

He was met with silence, which told Luke everything he needed to know.

"It's _you, _isn't it?" He snapped, though he knew he was stating the obvious.

"You catch on quick," The thing snickered, Max's voice took on a deeper octave. "A lot faster than Dean and Sammy did with Daddy Winchester."

"You get out of her!" Luke shouted, "Leave my sister alone!"

"She's not your sister, kid!" The demon barked, and ended the call.

Luke stared at the phone, wide-eyed. "Oh god…this isn't good…" He put the phone back on its charger, and headed for the door, "I gotta tell my brothers…" He paused in the hallway, "God…I feel like I have no mind of my own…always running to my brothers, or Max…." He rolled his eyes, and continued down the hall. "Guys…guys…we've got…"

The apartment was empty.

"What the hell?" Luke shouted, "One's possessed, the others are god knows where!" He ran down the stairs, looking for them, but of course, they weren't anywhere to be found. He now stood on the sidewalk, looking around, and finding nobody. "Why is it that when you need to find someone, there's never anyone around?"

Which is when he heard a voice.

_"Look at me!" _A girl was screaming. _"Somebody help me!"_

"Hey Luke!" Noah said, as he and Charlie walked up to him.

"Oh…you've gotta be kiddin' me," Luke sighed, and shook his head in disbelief. "Where the hell were you guys?"

"Went to the Seven-Eleven and got a Slim Jim," Charlie said, and handed him a long stick of jerky, "Got one for you too."

"Did you hear that voice?" Luke then asked._ First your sister gets possessed, now you're hearing voices…what the hell's going on?_

"What voice?" Noah frowned.

_"Help me!"_

"That voice!" Luke snapped, "Don't you hear it?"

"No, Harry Potter, I don't," Noah shook his head.

Luke rolled his eyes, and walked around the corner.

A petite brunette girl, who looked to be about his age, was screaming at the top of her lungs, making her way down the sidewalk. However, nobody noticed her.

_"Why won't anyone listen to me?" _The girl was screaming.

"I'll listen to you," Luke said.

The girl looked straight at him, her green eyes wide as she ran toward him, _"You can see me?"_

"And hear you," Luke said. He fought to keep the doofy grin from his face; he had to admit she was kind of cute. "What's your name?"

_"Lucy," _The girl answered, _"Yours?"_

"Luke," He answered. "What's wrong, why were you screaming?"

_"I don't' know what's happening!"_ Lucy cried. _"One minute, I'm out walking with my friends, and the next…I'm lying on the ground, alone…and what's weird…" _She raised her shirt, and revealed a hole, probably from a bullet, which had taken a small chunk out of her side, _"I don't know how this happened."_

Luke's eyes widened. He was no doctor, but the girl would need medical treatment, to make sure there was no permanent damage, if she didn't bleed to death first. But that was also the problem, "Why aren't you bleeding?"

_"I don't know," _Lucy cried. _"I'm so lost…"_

"Well, since I'm the only one that can see and hear you…why I don't know…I can help you. Where did you wake up?"

* * *

"Luke's gone insane!" Noah muttered to Charlie.

"What?" Charlie asked, looking around the corner as well.

"Luke's talking to thin air is what!" Noah snapped.

"Now he's walkin' away," Charlie frowned.

"Should we follow?" Noah asked.

"I think we should," Charlie nodded.

* * *

_"You don't seem weirded out by the appearance of ghost-girl," _Lucy commented.

"I don't think you're a ghost," Luke said. "I'm not exactly sure what you are…but ghost, no."

_"So what am I?"_ Lucy wondered aloud.

"I'm more focused on why the heck I can see you in the first place."

_"Well, maybe you're meant to help me," _Lucy pointed out. _"Maybe that's why you can see me."_

"I _can _help you," Luke agreed, "But I don't think that's why I can see you."

Lucy frowned, _"Well…I can't think of any other reason…unless you're Lisa Williams or something."_

"Who?" Luke asked.

_"Lisa Williams," _Lucy frowned, _"'Life among the dead'? Any of this ringin' a bell?"_

"Nope," Luke shook his head.

_"Eh, oh well," _Lucy shrugged. _"Doesn't matter."_

"Well…why would I be like her?" Luke frowned.

_"She's this psychic lady that can talk to the dead," _Lucy said, _"I don't know if that's true or not, but it's a theory."_

"Well, I still don't think you're—"

_"That's the alley!" _Lucy announced, running inside.

Luke rounded the corner, and seeing it was empty, walked in.

_"There!" _Lucy pointed. A pale wrist stuck out from behind boxes and garbage bins.

Luke nudged them away with his shoe, and saw Lucy's pale face showing through the gaps of a pallet. "Who tried to hide your body?"

_"Luke, I remember NOTHING!" _Lucy snapped.

Luke walked across the street, and put change into the pay phone. He dialed 911 and gave the little information he knew. Then he waited for the ambulance.

"I was walking," Luke told the cop that questioned him. "Just saw her arm out of the corner of my eye…went to take a look…"

"And that's when you found the body?"

_I found it when I saw her arm idiot! _Luke nodded, "Yeah."

"Well, good thing you did," The cop said. "She'd have bled to death if you hadn't found her."

Luke shrugged sheepishly, "Am I free to go?"

"Yes," The cop nodded.

"Where are they taking her?" Luke asked, "I'd like to know."

"St. Elizabeth's," The cop replied.

Luke gave another nod, and walked off.

"Lying to an officer of the law, that's a bad thing, O'Reilly."

Luke turned to the speaker, "Officer Andrews, what're you doin' here?"

"Never you mind that," Andrews said, "Why did you flat out lie to that officer?"

"What was I supposed to tell them?" Luke hissed, "I'm a psychic that gets premonitions, and can see spirits close to death?"

"Come again?"

"Long story," Luke shrugged. "Point is, I'd get locked in the loony bin if I told them the truth!"

"With that kind of truth, that would do it," Andrews agreed.

"Dude! What the hell?" Noah said, appearing out of nowhere. "We leave you alone for five minutes, and look what happens."

"Your brother just saved a girl's life," Andrews told him.

"Luke…save someone's life?" Charlie asked, disbelief filling his voice. "You're kidding me…how?"

"That I will let him tell you, probably at your home, not here," Andrews said. "And keep an eye on him…his abilities shouldn't be shared with the public."

"Hey!" Luke snapped.

"Come on Luke," Charlie said, steering his brother in the direction of the apartment. "We'll discuss this at home."


	4. Chapter 4

Luke was steamed by the time they reached the apartment, he was surprised smoke wasn't coming out of his ears. He'd saved Lucy, didn't he? Suddenly he was a disobedient child, like he'd done something wrong…

"What the hell is going on, Luke?" Charlie asked, as Luke plopped himself down at the bar.

"I saw Lucy," Luke snapped. "She was screaming at the top of her lungs, nobody could see her but me!"

"Come again?" Noah asked.

"I could see her spirit," Luke said in frustration. "Okay? Like she was having an out-of-body experience! She was running down the street, screaming for help!"

"And you could see her?" Charlie asked.

"What part of that wasn't clear?" Luke shouted.

"We've gotta call Max," Charlie said, rubbing his forehead.

"Max collapsed when Dean almost died," Luke said flatly. "Dean's running around the hospital…I'm assuming like Lucy, since it seemed that neither Max or Sam could see him."

Both Noah and Charlie were looking at him like he'd grown a second head.

"I had another vision," Luke sighed, "A couple, actually…wicked painful things…"

"So…because you could see Dean in a vision—"

"He was yelling at something floating above his body…I think it might have been a Reaper, because he kept telling it to stay the hell away from him…and when it was gone, they'd gotten his pulse, and sinus rhythm…" Luke rubbed his forehead, he still had a vision-hangover. "And I heard him screaming at Sam and their dad earlier…but I don't think they'd have listened even if they could see him."

"Okay…wait a second," Noah said. "Let's get this straight…you had a vision. Dean is in a coma, almost died…but he's running around the hospital?"

Luke rolled his eyes and groaned in frustration, "Out-of-body experience! His _spirit _was running around the hospital!"

"And he told a Reaper to get away from him?" Charlie asked.

"I don't know for sure…they stabilized him when it was gone though…or brought him back to life…whatever."

"And Max…?"

"Passed out."

"Passed out?"

"From what I was shown…Max was having a hard time building her mental shields, and when Dean almost died, it was like a wrecking ball."

"Meaning?" Charlie asked.

Luke raised his eyebrows, "Okay, Max can hear thoughts, right?"

"Yeah," Noah nodded.

"We all know that," Charlie said. "She builds the mental shields to block out us and the Thrall."

"So what do you think would happen if she couldn't build those mental shields?" Luke asked, "She's in a hospital…with god only knows how many patients, visitors, staff…?"

Charlie and Noah gripped their heads in reflex, both cringing.

"Ouch…" Charlie hissed.

"So wait…" Noah frowned, "Is Max one of those out-of-body people?"

Luke frowned, "No…"

"She must just be unconscious," Charlie said, "Right…? Except with one hellacious headache."

Luke simply nodded; something kept him from mentioning the Demon. He wasn't sure why, but he couldn't bring himself to explain it. He should feel more nervous about it, after all, he'd seen what the thing was capable of…

"I've gotta go…" Luke said, and got to his feet.

"Wait a second!" Charlie snapped, "You're not leaving this building!"

Luke frowned, "Why not?"

"The Thrall for one thing," Noah pointed out. "And…who knows what else is out there!"

"I was going to go to St. Elizabeth's," Luke said. "They took Lucy there…I wanted to make sure she was all right."

Both Noah and Charlie exchanged looks.

"We know most of the staff there," Noah pointed out.

"Dr. McDougal knows about the Thrall, and the demons and what not," Charlie agreed, "I guess he can watch out for him…"

Luke rolled his eyes, "I'm not six years old…"

"No, you're twelve," Charlie said. "Not a whole lot better."

Luke flashed him the finger, and headed for the door.

"Really mature, Luke!" Charlie snapped.

Luke rolled his eyes again, and shut the door. He shoved his hands in his pockets, and headed down the stairs, irritated at the whole thing. He didn't like being out of the loop, he wanted to climb the walls for something to do. And if he had to spend one more moment in this building he was going to snap.

* * *

"And I know they're thinking that I'm a freak, which really I am, but I can't help it! I was born this way!" Luke ranted.

Dr. McDougal nodded, "And you didn't tell them about Max's possession?"

"I don't know why," Luke said sheepishly, "I don't feel like it's a threat."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean…" Luke sighed. "It's like…I know something's coming…something bad…I can sense it…but…"

"But?"

"I don't think the demon wants Max," Luke said. "Not as a human shell anyway…I can't explain it…but I don't think its there to stay."

"Maybe not," Dr. McDougal nodded. "Luke, honestly, I'm not sure. If you'd had a question related to the Thrall, then I could answer it…but…the yellow-eyed demon, I don't know…"

"There is…one question you could answer…though it's not Thrall related," Luke said quietly.

"Yes?" Dr. McDougal asked.

"The demon told me…she wasn't my sister. Not, 'not your sister anymore'…she's not my sister."

"One of the reasons you don't think it's there to stay?" Dr. McDougal asked.

Luke nodded, "But…I was wondering…"

"What?" Dr. McDougal asked, and Luke noticed his face was paling.

"It was telling me the truth…wasn't it?"

* * *

Luke sighed, walking through the halls of St. Elizabeth's. Dr. McDougal hadn't told him anything…except put him on a guilt trip, by telling him not to invade Max's privacy.

On a higher note though, the doctor also told him that Lucy was going to make a full recovery. The bad note, he wouldn't be able to see her for another day or two.

Which is why Luke was now heading for the double doors, going to leave the hospital. He gave a wave to the nurse behind the front desk, then left the building, grabbing his wallet on the way to the bus stop.

He got off at the apartment, and trudged up the stairs. Once inside the apartment, he asked, "Did Max call?"

"No," Charlie shook his head. "Any visions?"

Luke shook his head. "Look, I'm just gonna go to bed, if that's okay."

"Dude, it's only six—"

"Well, it's nine on the East Coast," Luke sighed, headed for the bathroom. "Shower and sleep, that's all I want."

Noah shook his head at him, and when the door closed, said, "I liked younger Luke better."

"Everything's different," Charlie frowned.

"What else?" Noah asked.

"Just feels that way," Charlie explained. "Luke's getting visions, and talkin' to half-dead people, the heroes and their Impala are WIA, and…you just _know _things aren't gonna be the same."

"Wouldn't it be MIA?" Noah asked.

"No," Charlie said. "We might not exactly know their location, but we've heard from them, right? Therefore, WIA…wounded in action."

"Whatever you say, Noah shrugged.

Luke emerged from the bathroom, and went straight for his bed. He curled up under his blanket, and they could tell he was asleep when his head hit the pillow.

"Different," Charlie said. "Everything's different."

* * *

_Sam sat on a white linoleum floor, in front of an Ouija board. "Dean?" He asked, glancing around. "Dean? Are you here?"_

_"God, I feel like I'm at a slumber party," Dean groused as he sat across from his brother. "All right Sam…this isn't gonna work." His fingers rested on the cursor, and he moved it to the word 'yes'. "I'll be damned."_

_Sam smiled, and gave a sigh of relief, "It's good to hear from you man…it hasn't been the same without you Dean."_

_"Damn straight." He kept his fingers on the cursor, "All right, hang on…"_

_"Dean, what…?" Sam looked down as the cursor began to move again. "H…u…hunt? We're hunting…uh, what? Are you hunting?"_

_The cursor moved back to 'yes'._

"_Dean, is it in the hospital, what you're hunting, what…do you know what it is?"_

_"One question at a time, dude." He scrolled over different letters._

_R…E…_

_"I don't think it's killin' people. I think it's taking them…you know…and my time's just up…"_

_A…P…_

_"A reaper…" Sam murmured. "Dean…is it after you?"_

_The cursor went back to 'yes'._

_"If it's here naturally…there's no way to stop it…"_

_"Yeah, you can't kill death," Dean said._

_"Man…you're um…"_

_"I'm screwed Sam." _

_Sam stared at the board; "No…no, no, no…there's gotta be a way…there's gotta be a way…dad'll know what to do."_

_Dean now stood in a doorway, looking at a woman with dark hair and eyes. "You know, you read the most interesting things. For example, did you know that reapers can alter human perception?" He smirked, "I sure didn't."_

_The woman leaned against a bed, just watching him, not saying a word._

_Dean walked farther into the room; "Basically they can make themselves appear however they want. Like say a…a pretty girl. You're much prettier than the last reaper I met." _

_"I was wondering when you'd figure it out."_

Luke's eyes shot open, and he saw early morning sunlight streaming through the windows.

"Vision boy's at it again," Noah yawned.

Luke was about to retort, when a headache suddenly flared. "Oh god…not again…"

_"Fine, we're talkin'. What the hell do you wanna talk about?" Dean snapped._

_"How death is nothing to fear. It's your time to go Dean," The Reaper touched Dean's face. "You're living on borrowed time already."_

_A flash…_

_"Look, I'm sure you've heard this before, but you've gotta make an exception, you've gotta cut me a break."_

_"Stage three, bargaining."_

_"I'm serious. My family's in danger. See, we're kinda in the middle of this…war…and they need me." _

_"The fight's over."_

_"No, it isn't!"_

_"It is for you."_

_Flash…_

_"There's no such thing as an honorable death. My corpse is gonna rot in the ground, my family's gonna die. No, I'm not goin' with you, I don't care what you do."_

_"Well, like you said, there's always a choice. I can't make you come with me. But you're not getting back in your body, and that's just facts. So yes, you can stay. And you'll stay here for years, disembodied, scared. Over the decades, it will probably drive you mad. Maybe you'll even get violent."_

_"What're you saying?"_

_"Dean, how do you think angry spirits are born? They can't let go, and they can't move on. And you're about to become one…the same thing you hunt."_

Luke clung to his blanket, shaking violently, waiting for the pain in his head to subside.

"Luke?" Noah asked, a worried look on his face.

Luke held up a trembling hand, "Just get me Advil…and water…"

"What did you see?" Noah asked as Charlie walked over to the kitchen.

"Dean…Reaper…Sam and an Ouija board…" Luke closed his eyes, rubbing his forehead with his knuckles. "It just happened too fast…"

When Charlie dropped two Advil in his hand, and handed him a water bottle, the eldest said, "You look like you're gonna be sick."

Luke swallowed the tablets; "I'll be fine…as long as I don't get anymore stupid visions…" He finally got to his feet, and walked over to the dresser in the corner. "I gotta get dressed…I gotta go visit Lucy."

"Luke, I don't think—"

"Shut up!" Luke snapped. "I just want…silence."

He dressed quickly and was out the door within ten minutes.

"What happened to our little brother?" Noah frowned.

* * *

"Lucy," Dr. McDougal smiled, walking into the room. "Someone's here to see you."

Lucy sat up, then smiled when she saw Luke, "Well, come on in then!"

Luke grinned, and walked in. "Flowers…my sister said they are a nice gift."

"They are," Lucy smiled.

"Who's your friend, Luce?" The woman next to her asked.

"This is Luke O'Reilly, Mom," Lucy said, "He's the one that saved me."

That got Luke a different reception. Her mother right out hugged him, and after a few minutes, "Uh, ma'am…um, I don't mean to be rude…but I need air."

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Her mother finally let go.

Luke would've grinned, but his headache was no better than when he'd left the apartment.

"Why so glum, Luke?" Lucy's mother asked.

"I have a headache," Luke admitted.

"Luke's got superpowers," Lucy grinned, "Sometimes they're more than he can handle."

Luke's eyes widened, but Lucy's mother chuckled.

"Superpowers…right," she said, "Well, I'd best head home, you gonna be okay, Luce?"

"I'll be fine, mom," Lucy told her, and the woman left the room. "She's been here for the past twenty-four hours."

"She's worried," Luke said, as the door closed behind him. "She's your mother."

"I know," Lucy sighed. "The wound looked worse than it really was. Just another day or two in the hospital, then I'm home free."

Luke sat in the chair beside her bed, sighing and rubbing his forehead with his knuckles.

"You're stressed," Lucy observed.

"I'm not—"

"Yes, you are," Lucy cut him off. "I can tell. You just seem…"

"About to crack?" Luke supplied.

"Yeah," Lucy nodded.

"I don't see why," Luke said, "I mean…I was normal up until a few months ago, where I saw my sister, her boyfriend, his brother and father, in a car, about to be T-boned by a big-rig truck. Plus having gotten their asses kicked by the weird demon they were after, not to mention now that nightmare has come true, plus the fact that I think Dean's about to die, 'cause he's having a conversation with a Reaper. And now I'm seeing and hearing people who are having out of body experiences! Gee, why wouldn't I be about to crack?"

"Anything else that's bothering you?" Lucy asked, arms folded.

Luke had tears in his eyes, he was so frustrated. "I'm just…I don't want this. I don't wanna be different. I just wanna be a regular kid again…hell, Sam didn't get visions till he was twenty-two…why am I getting the abilities now?"

Lucy shrugged, "Don't know."

"My sister's possessed. By the demon they were hunting…she lost control of her own psychic ability, and she went into a coma, and the demon got inside. I don't think he's there to stay, but I don't know why he's in her head…" He sighed, "I wanted to know what was going on…I was going crazy not knowing…now I guess I'm learning to be careful what I wish for." He ended with a sigh, and his face landed on the mattress with a thump.

"You're wise beyond your years, Luke O'Reilly," Lucy commented.

Luke looked at her smiling face, and raised an eyebrow, "Why? 'Cause I'm a freaky spirit-seeing psychic?"

"Maybe," Lucy shrugged. "You just seem that way…could be just me."

Luke shook his head; "I'm twelve…not thirty."

"Well…even so," Lucy smiled. "And…if we're gonna be friends, can I ask you a question?"

Luke nodded, "Go right ahead."

"Could you give me the full explanation on who's who and what's what in that story?" Lucy asked.

Luke simply chuckled, "Yeah…except…" His headache flared even more, "I think…vision!"

_"Can you bring Dean back?" John Winchester growled, "Yes, or no?"_

_"No, but I know someone who can," Max's face grinned at him, golden eyes bright. "It's not a problem."_

_"Good," John answered. "And before I give you the gun, I'm gonna wanna make sure that Dean's okay, with my own eyes."_

_"Oh John, I'm offended," Her voice mocked innocence, "Don't you trust me?"_

_John wasn't amused, "So do we have a deal?"_

_"No, John, not yet. You still have to sweeten the pot."_

_"With what?"_

_The scene changed…_

_"It's time to put the pain behind you."_

_"And go where?" Dean whispered. _

_"Sorry…I can't give away the big punch line." She sat beside him on the bed, and was quiet for a moment. "Moment of truth, no changing your mind later. So what's it going to be?"_

_Dean looked at her, about to answer…_

_…When the lights started flickering. _

_Dean got to his feet, "What're you doin' that for?"_

_The Reaper rose as well, "I'm not doing it."_

_"What the hell?"_

_Black mist was streaming through the vent near the floor. _

_"You can't do this! Get away!" The Reaper yelled. _

_"What's happening?" Dean shouted. _

_The Reaper screamed as the black mist shot into her through her mouth. She whirled around; her dark eyes now golden. _

_"Today's your lucky day, kid."_

Luke's eyes shot open, and he struggled to catch his breath. "I can't wait for this to be over…"

"What did you see?" Lucy asked.

"I think…Dean's gonna live…" Luke struggled. "Oh god…" He pulled his cell phone from his pocket, and on reflex, dialed Max's number.

The line picked up, and there was a lot of high-pitched mechanical wailing in the background.

"Whoever this is, I'll call them back," Max said distractedly.

"That's our dad!" Dean snapped in the background. "That's our dad!"

"Max, look, I know there's a lot going on, but I've got to tell you—" Luke began, but cut off when he heard another voice in the background.

"Time of death…ten forty-one a.m."


	5. Chapter 5

"**Mobile - Part 2: Everybody Loves a Clown"**

_I hate demons…I hate Reaper-wannabes that turn out to be right…I hate that damn yellow-eyed demon that likes to possess people…_

Max stood under in scalding hot shower, scrubbing at her skin. She knew both Sam and Dean were starting to think she'd become germ-phobic or something…

In reality, she had been "trapped inside her own meat-suit" while that demon walked around, and made the deal with John…Max still shuddered while thinking about it. And the more she thought about it, thought about how that _thing_ had been inside her, possessing her…

Max's skin turned red as she scrubbed harder with the washcloth.

_Of course, what good is the scrubbing gonna do? It can't erase what happened. Scrubbing isn't gonna bring John back to life…scrubbing wouldn't have saved Dean if John hadn't…YOW!_

She'd noticed the water cooling, and turned the hot water on full blast…which came out icy cold, and forced her to jump away from the stream. Now her thoughts focused on cursing the yellow-eyed demon, the Reaper-wannabe Lauren, and now the icy-cold water, all in about seven different languages.

She turned off the water, and got out of the shower. Through the window, she could see Dean's legs sticking out from underneath the Impala. The frame had been restored, though the doors were still missing, and it was nowhere near fit to run cross-country again.

Max shook her head. That was what Dean did all day, work on the car. Sam spent his days trying to crack his father's voicemail codes, and trying to figure out what the next step was, as well as worrying about Dean. And Max…

Max wondered why she was still here. She wasn't very useful now, just for using up all the hot water, and someone for Sam to talk to, because Dean wasn't in a chatty mood. What she should've done was gone back to Denver…the _Falcon _was still running, it was just sitting in the lot with the other cars, collecting dust. Her brothers were probably worried…_Oh my god!_

Max hurried into her clothes, and rummaged through her bag, trying to find her cell phone. She was mentally smacking herself, she'd forgotten that the Demon had talked to Luke…she hit the speed dial, hoping he'd answer.

"Luke O'Reilly," He answered in a singsong voice. "I live to serve."

Max smiled and rolled her eyes, "Luke, you're not Zach Addy."

"Max! It's you!" Luke smiled.

Max gave a sigh of relief. "It is…I forgot to call you, and I'm sorry about that…time just got away from me, and it didn't dawn on me until now—"

Luke chuckled, "Okay, Max. I believe it's you…and only you, and not the Demon."

Another sigh from Max, "Really?"

"Well, there's no sense of foreboding this time," Luke pointed out, "And I don't think the demon would try and give an apology in a run-on sentence like that."

"Who knows what the demon would do," Max said, holding her phone to her ear with her shoulder, while trying to tie her shoelaces. "How's it going over there?"

"Ally's out with Charlie and Noah, getting food and stuff," Luke said.

"Tell her she doesn't owe me rent then," Max said, getting to her feet, and walking out of her room. "If she's gotta buy you guys food…I don't think Noah and Charlie will ask for too much, but…"

"She understands," Luke told her. "I…kind of filled her in on the details…mostly that you and the guys were in a car crash, and were sort of out of commission for a while. She's askin' about you by the way."

"If you haven't already, tell her we're fine," Max said, squinting as she walked outside. She could hear Dean working on the Impala, listening to his music, and sighed, "For the most part at least…anything else going on that you'd like to fill me in on?"

"Um…I've…uh…" Max could tell Luke was squirming on the other end, "I kind of have a girlfriend."

"Kind of?" Max asked, "What do you mean by that? I mean, either she is, or she isn't."

She listened as Luke described her, though he neglected to tell her how they'd met.

"So, her name's Lucy, huh?" Max smiled, sitting on the hood of the Falcon.

"Yeah," Luke said on the other end, and she could hear the smile in his voice.

"She a friend from school?" Max asked. She didn't like the silence that followed. "Luke? What's wrong?"

"Uh…" Luke said hesitantly. "I kind of…well, I saved her life."

That raised Max's eyebrows, "Wow…that's…"

"I heard her screaming," Luke explained. "And…I saw her spirit."

"Come again?"

"Her spirit…kind of like an out-of-body experience," Luke said. "She led me to where her body was, and…well, you can figure out the rest."

"So…you're like the_ Ghost Whisperer _or something?" Max asked. _And where was that when Sam and Dean were talkin' on the Ouija board? _

"Lucy compared me to Lisa Williams," Luke chuckled.

"That lady on Lifetime that talks to dead people?" Max said thoughtfully, "I guess…as long as you don't dye your hair blonde and maroon."

"And start talking with a British accent," Luke added.

Max smiled at that, and glanced over at Dean and Sam.

"Dude, when you think about it, it's kinda like the song 'Mobile'," Luke continued.

Max raised her eyebrows, "Okay, random."

"Think about it, everything's changing," Luke explained. "Nobody can control it, like the song says."

Max sighed, and nodded, "Yeah, I'd agree with that."

It was quiet for a few minutes.

"Ah…Max?" Luke asked. "I kind of have to go…I'm meeting Lucy—"

"Okay," Max nodded. She sighed, "I'm not trying to ignore you guys…time just got away from me."

"I know that feeling," Luke agreed, "Gotta go."

Max closed her phone, and watched the brothers, with a feeling that she wasn't going to like what she was about to see.

"Need anything else then?" Sam was asking.

"Stop it Sam," Dean said, sliding out from underneath the Impala.

"Stop what?"

"Stop askin' if I need anything. Stop asking if I'm okay, I'm okay," Dean shook his head, walking over to where the tools were laid out. He turned back to Sam, "Really. I promise."

"Alright…Dean it's just…we've been at Bobby's for over a week now, and you haven't brought up dad once," Sam pointed out.

"You know what…you're right," Dean agreed.

_This will not end well…_Max frowned.

"Come here, I'm gonna lay my head gently on your shoulder. Then maybe we can cry, hug, maybe even slow dance."

"Dude…harsh," Max muttered.

"Don't patronize me, Dean, dad is dead! The colt is gone, and it seems pretty damn likely that the demon is behind all this, and you're acting like nothing happened!" Sam snapped.

"What do you want me to say?"

"Say _something, _all right? Hell, say anything! Aren't you angry? Don't you want revenge? But all you do is sit out here all day long buried underneath this damn car!"

"Revenge huh?"

"Yeah."

"Sounds good. You got any leads on where the demon is? Makin' heads or tails of any of dad's research 'cause I sure ain't. Cause you know, when we do finally find it…oh no, wait. Like you said, the Colt's gone. But I'm sure you've figured out another way to kill it. We got nothin', Sam, nothin', okay? So you know the only thing I can do, is I can work on the car." Dean told him, and moved to continue his work.

"We got somethin' all right? That's what I came out here to tell you. It's one of dad's old phones. Took me a while, but I cracked his voicemail code, listen to this…"

Max got off the _Falcon_'s hood, and walked over to them as Dean listened to the voicemail message. He turned to her, and raised his eyebrows.

"My god, it's got shoulders," He said.

Max raised her eyebrows as well, and her hand fingered one of the spaghetti-style straps on her shirt as she said, "My god, it's got a face!"

"I didn't even think you owned any sleeveless shirts," Dean said, handing her the cell phone.

"I got dressed in a hurry, sue me," Max snapped, and listened to the message as well.

_"John, it's Ellen…again. Look, don't be stubborn, you know I can help you. Call me."_

"That message is four months old," Sam explained.

"Dad saved that chick's message for four months?" Dean asked.

"Yeah."

"Who's Ellen? Any mention of her in your dad's journal?" Max asked.

"No, but I ran a trace on the number, and I got an address."

"Hey Max, any chance we could use the _Falcon_?" Dean asked.

"No," Max said simply.

"All right then," Dean sighed, "Ask Bobby if we can use one of his cars."

* * *

"This is humiliating…" Dean groused, pulling the van to a stop. "I feel like a frickin' soccer mom!"

"It's the only car Bobby had running," Sam pointed out. The trio walked toward the wooden building, and Sam called out, "Hello? Anybody here?"

Dean paused at the door, "Hey, did you bring the—"

"Of course," Sam tossed him his lock picking tools.

The bar was silent and empty, until the bug-zapper in the corner caught something.

"Charming décor," Max said in a fake accent.

Sam headed over to the pool table across the room, where a man was passed out on it, snoring softly. "Hey buddy?"

"I'm guessin' that isn't Ellen," Max said.

"Yeah," Dean nodded. Both he and Sam moved toward the bar, Dean stood there looking around, while Sam walked through a door nearby.

"Of all the places we've broken into," Max murmured, standing near Dean at the bar, "I really think we shouldn't have come in here."

"You know, I think I agree with you," Dean said, he felt something poke him in the back, "Oh god, please let that be a rifle."

"No, I'm just real happy to see you," The girl said behind him.

Out of the corner of his eye, Dean saw Max whirl around and draw her pistol, saying, "Sorry, sweetheart, he's spoken for."

Dean rolled his eyes, "You know, you should know somethin' miss. When you put a rifle on someone, you don't want to put it right against their back. 'Cause it makes it real easy to do…" He whirled around and yanked the rifle from her grip, "That."

The skinny blonde girl responded with a punch to the bridge of Dean's nose, and she yanked her rifle from his grip.

Max burst out laughing as Dean cried out, "SAM!" He gripped at his nose, and kept muttering, "I can't see…I can't even see…"

"Sorry Dean," Sam frowned, coming out of the room, "I can't right now…I'm a little tied up." An older blonde woman came out behind him, aiming her own handgun at his head.

"I'm beginning to like this place," Max said, shaking her head.

"Sam, Dean," the woman frowned, "Winchester?"

"That would be them," Max chuckled.

"Son of a bitch…"

"Mom, you know these guys?" the girl asked, gun still trained on Dean.

"Yeah, I think these are John Winchester's boys," She then chuckled, and smiled as she lowered her gun, "Hey, I'm Ellen. That's my daughter Jo."

"Hey," Jo said.

"You're not gonna hit me again, are ya?" Dean asked.

Max was a lot calmer now; "And I'm Max O'Reilly."

"The hunter with a purse," Dean smirked. The he ducked when Max swung the bag at his head, which could've knocked him out with the all the stuff she carried inside.

She stashed the gun in the bag, "Don't mock the bag…it's useful."

"And now, apparently lethal," Sam smirked.

"No, that was Jo," Max smirked as well, as Ellen handed Dean a cold compress for his nose. "Eh, I hit him once too."

"Once?" Dean scoffed, pressing the cloth to his nose. "I'm surprised I don't have permanent worry-ring marks on my nose."

"Baby," Max shot back.

"Okay," Sam said loudly, which quieted the two. He turned to Ellen; "You called our dad, saying you could help him. Help him with what?"

"Well…the demon of course," Ellen answered. "I heard he was closin' in on it."

"Was there a article in the demon hunter's quarterly I missed, I mean who are you how do you know about all this?" Dean asked in annoyance.

"Hey, I just run the saloon," Ellen said, hands up in defense. She glanced at Jo, "But, hunters have been known to pass through now and again, including your father. John was like family once."

"Oh yeah?" Dean asked, "How come he's never mentioned you before?"

Ellen was quiet for a few seconds, "You'd have to ask him that."

"So why exactly do we need your help?" Max asked.

"Hey, don't do me any favors. If you don't want our help, fine, don't let the door smack your ass on the way out. But John wouldn't have sent you if…" She trailed off at the looks on their faces, "He didn't send you." She frowned, "He's all right, isn't he?"

"No," Sam said, "No, he isn't…it was the demon we think…it um…just got him before he got it, I guess."

"I'm so sorry."

"It's okay," Dean said as he put an arm around Max, "We're all right."

"Really, I know how close you and your dad were—"

"Really, lady, I'm fine," Dean said.

It was quiet for a minute.

"So look," Sam said, "If you can help…we can use all the help we can get." He ignored Dean's look, keeping his gaze on Ellen.

"Well, we can't," Ellen said, exchanging glances with Jo. "But Ash will."

"Who's Ash?" Sam asked.

"Ash!" Ellen called out.

The man sleeping on the table shot up, "What? Closin' time?"

Sam turned back to Ellen in disbelief, "That's Ash?"

Jo nodded, "He's a genius."


	6. Chapter 6

"So, scale of one to ten," Lucy said, walking out of the movie theater.

"I don't know," Luke admitted. "All I could hear was Dean snarking about how bad the writers messed up the ghosts."

"Well…being related to hunters'll do that to you," Lucy shrugged.

"I'm only related to Max," Luke frowned.

"You know what I mean."

"Eh," Luke shrugged.

It was silent as they walked to the bus stop.

"So…you hear from her?" Lucy then asked.

"Yeah, she finally called today," Luke nodded. "Been out of the hospital for over a week…she just said that they were fine."

"Nothing else?" Lucy asked. "You know…like, when's she coming home?"

"Max's like that," Luke shrugged. "Sometimes she's gone for two or three weeks…"

Lucy frowned at that, "Luke, that's not good…"

Luke frowned, realizing how he sounded, "No, no, its not like that…Max is always there when we need her. Just…sometimes she stays out with Dean and Sam, hunting the demons…"

"She calls you though, right?"

"Oh yeah," Luke nodded. "Not everyday, of course, but she calls, checks in, lets us know what's going on."

"Your sister is weird, Luke," Lucy shook her head.

"My whole family is weird, what are you talkin' about?" Luke rolled his eyes. "My sister's a demon hunter, and she's in love with a demon hunter…it's kinda weird…"

"Besides the fact that they're demon hunters?" Lucy asked.

"I mean…" Luke frowned, "In those two or three week spans, that's the time they spend together. Otherwise, Dean and Sam are out on a hunt, and Max is either taking a break, or is off in Europe making deliveries. I don't know…"

"It kinda seems like they're leading two different lives, in a way," Lucy said. "She's got you guys, and a home, and a job…while Sam and Dean can pull up stakes and go wherever."

"Yeah," Luke nodded. "Well…if anyone could make it work, they could…" He chuckled, "Hell, when they'd broken up, there was a poll on when they'd crack and get back together."

Lucy shook her head at this, "You're right, your whole family is weird."

"A priest won the poll," Luke said, "Even our friends are weird."

* * *

"You gotta be kiddin' me, this guy's no genius," Dean rolled his eyes, "He's a Lynard Skynard roadie."

Ash sat at the bar, and looked at Dean as if he were impressed, "I like you."

"Thanks," Dean said, as Jo put three glasses on the bar.

"Just give him a chance," She said, pouring water into the glasses.

The three exchanged glances, and a silent agreement passed through.

"All right," Dean said, "This stuff's about a year's worth of our dad's work, so ah..." he slid the folder over to Ash, "Let's see what you make of it."

Ash opened the file, and skimmed through the papers. "Come on, this crap ain't real. Ain't nobody can track a demon like this."

It was silent for a second. Sam finally responded, "Our dad could."

Ash looked at him, then back at the papers, "These are non-parametric statistical overviews, cross-spectrum correlations, I mean..._damn!_" He looked over others, "There's signs...omens, ah...if you can track 'em, you can track this demon. You know...crop failures, electrical storms...you ever been struck by lighting? It ain't fun."

"Can you track it or not?"

"Yeah, with this, I think so. But it's gonna take time, uh give me...fifty-one hours."

Dean and Sam exchanged surprised looks.

"Wow..." Max muttered.

Ash collected the papers, and headed for the back room.

"Hey man!" Dean called out.

"Yeah?" Ash asked.

"By the way, I ah...dig the haircut."

Ash gave a lopsided smile, "All business up front, party in the back."

Max grabbed her glass of water, chuckling quietly. "I'm beginning to like this guy," She shook her head as she took a seat at one of the tables.

Sam was staring at something on the other side of the bar, "Hey, Ellen, what is that?"

Ellen glanced in that direction, "It's a...police scanner. We ah...we keep tabs on things—"

"No, the um...the folder."

Ellen walked over, and grabbed it, "Uh...I was gonna give this to a friend of mine...but...take a look if you want."

"Thanks," Sam said, opening the file.

Dean got up from his stool, and walked over to Max's table. He noticed her rubbing her head with her fingers, grimacing in pain. "You okay, Max?" He asked, sitting down beside her.

"Yeah, I'm good," Max nodded, sniffling slightly.

"So...we've got fifty-one hours to kill—"

"Dean...I have a headache," Max cut him off.

Dean nodded at that, "I get that…actually…really is the wrong place, and the wrong time when you think about it." He looked at her, then at Jo, then back to Max, "Is it tank-top day for the hunter girls or somethin'?"

"Must be," Max said, shivering slightly. "And what is the obsession with my wardrobe, and now apparently Jo's?"

"I have no idea," Dean sighed. "And what the hell did you mean earlier when you said 'it's got a face'?"

"Because the most I've seen of you lately is two jean-clad legs and a pair of boots," Max shrugged. "And I think you were a little harsh to Sam earlier…he's just worried about you."

Dean rolled his eyes, "Max, I'm okay."

"Dean, just because you say it, doesn't mean it's true," Max told him, "And no matter how many times you say it, you can't convince yourself you feel that way."

"I forgot you can read minds, so, naturally you're right." Dean scoffed.

"Because I really do have a headache, I'm gonna let that one slide," Max said calmly. "I hate demons…"

"We all do," Dean pointed out.

"And I think most of us hate them more now than we did before…" Max sighed, and rubbed her temples. "Demons…and freakin' headaches caused by the psychic stuff." Max glanced over at Jo, who was watching Dean.

_"Jeez…what is it with her?"_

"With who?" Max asked, confused.

Dean looked at her strangely; "I didn't say anything."

Max sniffled, and got to her feet, "Ah…Dean…I think I just wanna be alone for a while…" She walked over to the other side of the room, and pulled an MP3 player out of her pocket.

_"Since when does she have one of those?"_

Max turned to face Sam, but his gaze went back to the file Ellen had given him. She frowned, knowing that he hadn't said a word either. She put the ear-bud phones in her ears, and blasted whatever song was up.

And of course…it was "Mobile"…

_What is it with that damn song?_ Max thought, retreating to a quiet corner.

"_Went back home again, this sucks gotta pack up and leave again. Say goodbye to all my friends, can't say when I'll be there again..."_

_The fact Luke can relate to this song is kinda scary,_ Max thought. _And me as a matter of fact...yeesh..._Her gaze went around the room, and she noticed Jo's glance at her, then Dean, before heading to his table.

Max always knew how to let a guy breathe, and tried not to act all possessive over someone. Though the track record was nowhere near clean, Max knew she could trust Dean…and most days she just ignored the girls that ogled him from afar, or tried to speak with him, mostly to try and pick him up.

Today was _not_ one of those days.

Max pulled the rubber band out of her hair, and waited. She noticed Sam watching her, and she smirked. Her fellow psychic just rolled his eyes, and shook his head, once again returning to the file.

Max took aim, and as Jo was halfway to Dean's table, let the rubber band fly like a slingshot. It hit Jo in the side of her head, and she squeaked a little in pain, then turned to glare at Max. Max smirked, and sent her a look that clearly said, _MINE._

"_Everything's changin', when I turn around. All out of my control, I'm a mobile."_

The line made Max jump...and it made her think, _Of all the changes happening...that better not be one of them._

Sam closed the file, and in a hasty attempt to avoid a cat fight, said, "Guys, come here, check this out."

"Yeah?" Dean asked, as both reached him.

"Few murders, not far from here, that Ellen caught wind of," Sam explained. "Looks to me like there might be a hunt."

"Yeah, so?" Max asked.

"So, I told her we'd check it out," Sam finished.

* * *

"You've gotta be kiddin' me, a killer clown?" Dean asked in disbelief.

"Yeah, he left the daughter unharmed, and killed the parents," Sam explained. "Ripped them to pieces actually."

"And this family was at some carnival that night?" Max asked.

"Right, right, the ah, Cooper Carnival."

"So how do you know we're not dealin' with some psycho carnie in a clown suit?" Dean chimed in again.

"Well, the cops have no viable leads, and all the employees were tearin' down shop, alibis all around. Plus the girl, says she saw a clown vanish into thin air." He shrugged, "'Course the cops are thinkin' trauma of course—"

"I know what you're thinkin' Sam," Dean smirked. "Why did it have to be clowns?"

"Gimme a break," Sam rolled his eyes, handing Max the file and the flashlight.

Dean chuckled in remembrance, "You didn't think I'd remember, did you? I mean come on, you still bust out cryin' when you see Ronald McDonald on the television."

"I never got why people were afraid of clowns," Max frowned, "I mean, they're supposed to be all friendly…though the in-your-face aspect would be a little irritating…"

"At least I'm not afraid of flying!" Sam snapped.

"Hey! Planes crash!" Dean said in defense.

"And apparently clowns kill," Sam shot back.

It was silent for a few minutes.

"So these types of murders, they ever happen before?" Dean asked.

"Ah...according to the file, 1981...the Bunker Brothers circus...same MO it happened three different times, three different lo-cals—"

"It's weird though, I mean if it is a spirit, it's usually bound to a specific lo-cal, you know a house or a town—"

"So how is this one moving from city to city, carnival to carnival?" Sam asked.

"Cursed object maybe, spirit attaches itself to something, and the carnival carries it around with 'em," Max suggested.

"Great, paranormal scavenger hunt," Sam groused.

"Hey, this case was your idea," Dean pointed out. "By the way, why is that? You were awfully quick to jump on this job."

"So?"

"It's just not like you, that's all," Dean continued, "I thought you were hell bent for leather on the demon hide."

"I don't know, I just think...takin' this job, it's what Dad would've wanted us to do."

Max's head shot up, "Come again?"

"What _Dad_ would've wanted?" Dean asked, surprised.

"Yeah...so?"

Dean was silent for a minute. "Nothin'."

Max closed the file, and shook her head. _Oh...this is gonna be a really fun job._


	7. Chapter 7

"I mean...it's not like she's a bad sister or anything," Luke rambled.

"I think I hit a nerve yesterday," Lucy bit her lip. "I really didn't mean anything Luke...in fact, I'm the last person to make judgments like that...I've never met the woman."

Luke sighed, "Yeah...but I can't seem to get past it..."

Lucy rolled her eyes, "All right Luke...spill your guts, I will listen."

"All right, Freud," Luke rolled his eyes as well.

"My mom's a psychiatrist," Lucy shrugged. "I've read her books."

"Whatever," Luke shook his head. "You want more of the story?"

"Yeah, that would be nice," Lucy nodded. "I came in at the middle part of the story..."

"She started hunting five years ago," Luke explained. "Her fiancé at the time, Dylan, turned her over to the Thrall...mostly he was a sell out, and Max was just a technicality. Never liked the man to begin with...but Max loved him."

"Now she's with Dean," Lucy said, "They engaged yet?"

Luke frowned, "That's an odd question."

"Why?"

Luke shrugged, "Ask Max the question, you'll never get a straight answer."

"Okay...new topic," Lucy frowned. "They hunt together...it's an office romance."

"We talkin' about me or them?" Luke asked.

"You want to talk about yourself?" Lucy asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Yeah, it's an office romance, in a way," Luke agreed.

Lucy smiled, "Gives me insight into your sister...I made an unfair judgment on her, I want to hear what she's like."

"Like Dean."

"I've never met Dean either."

"Good point."

"Independent, for the most part..." Luke thought carefully. "Sounds strange, since she's always around the Winchesters...but she is...and not very clingy, but she does have a jealous streak, which she hides well."

"Sounds interesting," Lucy said.

"You have no idea," Luke answered.

* * *

Dean walked over to Sam, seeing him in a staring contest with a midget woman. As the short woman walked away, Dean smirked, "Get her number?"

Max rolled her eyes, "Dude that wasn't even remotely funny."

"More murders?" Sam asked uneasily.

"Two more last night," Dean answered, "Apparently they were ripped to shreds. And they had a little boy with them."

"So you're thinkin' a clown?" Sam asked.

Dean was silent.

"What?"

"Yes, a clown. Who apparently vanished into thin air."

Sam sighed, "Dean, you know, looking for a cursed object, it's like trying to find a needle in a stack of needles...it could be anything."

"Needle in a stack of needles?" Max muttered, then said, "It's probably gonna give off EMF, so we'll just have to scan everything."

"Oh good," Sam chuckled in disbelief, "That's nice...and inconspicuous."

"Guess we'll just have to blend in," Dean said, eyeing a help wanted sign.

They walked into a tent, finding an older, gray-haired man wearing sunglasses, throwing knives.

"Excuse me," Dean said, "We're lookin' for a Mister Cooper, have you seen him around?"

"What is that, some kind of joke?" The knife-thrower asked, taking off his sunglasses.

"Oh...god, I'm, I'm sorry..."

"You think I wouldn't give my hind teeth to see Mister Cooper, or...a sunset, or anything at all?"

"Think you can give me a little help here?" Dean asked his companions.

Both smiled, shaking their heads.

"No," was Max's answer.

"Not really," Sam shook his head.

"Hey Barry, is there a problem?" Another short person asked, coming into the room, dressed like a weightlifter.

"Yeah, this guy hates blind people!" Barry answered.

"N-no I don't," Dean chuckled nervously.

"Hey buddy, what's your problem?" The man snapped.

"Nothing, it's just a little misunderstanding—"

"Little? You son of a bitch—"

"No, no, no, just could somebody tell me where Mister Cooper is?" Dean asked, hearing Max and Sam cracking up behind him. "Please?" He whined.

"You three picked a hell of a time to join up," Mr. Cooper said, as they walked into his office. He sat behind his desk, "Take a seat."

Two chairs, three of them. One normal chair, and the other shaped like a clown. Dean plopped his behind into the normal one, and Max seated herself in his lap. Both looked at their partner expectantly, trying to keep the grins from their faces.

Sam reluctantly walked over to the clown chair, and slowly sat on the edge of it, not liking this turn of events.

"We got all kinds a local trouble," Cooper continued.

"What do you mean?" Dean asked.

"Ah, a couple of folks got themselves murdered, cops always seem to start here first," Cooper explained, "So, you three ever work the circuit before?"

"Ah, yes, sir, last year through Texas and Arkansas," Sam answered.

"Yeah," Dean and Max added.

"Doin' what?" Cooper asked.

The three remained silent.

"Ride jockeys? Butcher? ANS men?"

"Yeah, ah, little bit of everything I guess."

"You three have never worked a show in your lives before, have you?" Cooper asked.

"Nope," Dean answered bluntly. "But we really need the work, so...and ah, Sam here's got a thing for the Bearded Lady." He shook his head, as Sam threw him a glare.

Cooper studied them for a minute, then said, "You see that picture? That's my daddy."

"You look just like him," Sam pointed out.

"He was in the business," Cooper continued, "Ran a freak show...till they outlawed 'em, most places. Apparently displaying the deformed isn't dignified. So, most of the performers went from honest work to rotting in hospitals, and asylums. That's progress, I guess..." He continued, "You see, this place...it's a refuge for outcasts. Always has been...for folks that don't fit in anywhere else. But you three, you should go to school, find a couple of girls, have 2.5 kids..."

"Why look at me when you say that?" Max asked, squirming slightly.

"Live regular," Cooper finished.

The three were silent for a few minutes.

"Sir," Sam spoke up, "We don't wanna go to school, and we don't want regular...we want this."

* * *

"Huh," Dean said once they were outside.

"What?" Sam asked.

"That whole, ah, 'I don't wanna go back to school' thing...were...were you just sayin' that to Cooper...or were you just...sayin' it?"

Sam was silent.

"Sam?" Max asked.

"I don't know," Sam finally said.

"You don't know?" Dean repeated. "I thought that, once the demon was dead, and the fat lady sings that you were gonna take off, and head back to Wussy State."

"I'm having second thoughts," Sam answered.

"Really?" Dean asked in disbelief.

"Yeah, I think..." Sam admitted, "Dad would've wanted me to stick with the job—"

"Since when do you give a damn about what Dad wanted?" Dean asked. "You spent half your life doing exactly what he didn't want, Sam!"

"Since he died, okay?" Sam frowned, "You have a problem with that?"

_I have a problem with it,_ Max thought, but it really wasn't her place to jump in.

"No, I don't have a problem at all," Dean answered.

Max looked back and forth between them, _What the hell?_

* * *

Dean was dumping a bag of trash into the dumpster when his cell phone rang. "Hello."

"Hey man," Sam answered.

"What's the matter, you sound like you just saw a clown," Dean said, laughing at his own joke.

"Very funny," Sam scowled. Then muttered, "Skeleton, actually."

"Like a real human skeleton?"

"In the fun house," Sam said. "Listen, I was thinking, what if the spirit isn't attached to a cursed object, what if it's attached to its own remains?"

"Did the bones give off EMF?" Dean asked.

"Well, no but—"

"We should check it out anyway, I'm headin' to you," Dean said. He returned his phone to his pocket when he felt someone grab his arm.

"What are you doin' here kid?" The blind knife-thrower asked.

"Just sweepin'," Dean answered.

"Bull...and what were you talkin' about, skeletons? What's EMF?"

"Dude...your blind-man hearing is out of control—"

"We're a tight-knit group, we don't like outsiders, we take care of our own problems."

"You got a problem?"

"You tell me, you're the one that's talkin' about human bones."

Dean paused for a minute, "Do you believe in ghosts?"

"What?"

"My brother, girlfriend, and me, um..." Dean said, "We're writin' a book about 'em."

Max and Sam were waiting by the fun house, when Dean finally appeared.

"What took you so long?" Sam asked.

"Long story," Dean answered.

"Mommy, look at the clown!" A little girl said.

The girl's mother looked, "What clown?"

The three exchanged glances as the mother tugged her daughter along. Later that night, they pulled up outside the house, waiting for the "clown" to show.

"Dean, I cannot believe you told the pasian about the homicidal phantom clown."

"I told him an urban _legend_ about a homicidal phantom clown," Dean corrected, "I never said it was real—"

"Keep it down," Sam told him.

"Oh, and get this," Dean added, "I mentioned the Bunker Brothers circus in '81, and their ah, evil clown apocalypse, guess what?"

"What?" Both Sam and Max asked.

"Before Mister Cooper owned Cooper Carnival, he worked for Bunker Brothers. He was their lot manager."

"So you think whatever the spirit's attached to, Cooper just brought it with him?" Sam asked.

"Somethin' like that," Dean nodded. Then he shook his head, "I can't believe we keep talkin' about clowns."

"I can't believe these kids are stupid enough to let the clown in the house in the first place," Max said. "Didn't their parents ever tell them, don't talk to strangers?"

"Kids don't think clowns can do that apparently," Sam said, shuddering slightly at the thought of clowns in general.

"Well, if I were one of those kids, and I saw a clown on my front lawn, I wouldn't invite it in...my parents taught me better than that."

"And lied to you for most of that time," Dean muttered.

"Excuse me?" Max asked.

"What?" Dean asked innocently.

"Your dad wasn't exactly a saint from the stories I've heard," Max snapped. "So my parents didn't tell me I was adopted...big deal?"

"It used to be a big deal to you," Dean shot back.

"Well, it's not as big a deal as it once was," Max said, folding her arms.

"What a surprise," Dean rolled his eyes. "Thought you were the one that was all uptight about being lied to for twenty-five years."

"At least my parents didn't ditch me without a word," Max shot back, "Give me nothin' but coordinates for six months, then call from a telephone booth to tell me to stay away!"

"You're goin' into dangerous territory, Max!" Dean snapped.

"Oh, so you're allowed to bad-mouth my family all you want, but I'm supposed to stay quiet and not defend them?" Max asked, "Sorry, not gonna happen."

"For the past—"

"Dean, I'm warning you," Max growled.

"You're warning me? About what?" Dean snapped. "What are you gonna do Max?"

Max didn't respond, then reared back and punched him in the face. Dean's head snapped back, coming dangerously close to cracking the windshield.

"Son of a bitch!" Dean choked out, gripping his nose.

"You asked," Max responded.

They both glared at each other, then turned their gazes toward the house.

Sam glanced from one to the other, knowing it would be stupid to say something. That wasn't normal, of course, even thinking that was redundant. Dean and Max bickered constantly, but it had never gone that far...and it gave Sam and uneasy feeling.


	8. Chapter 8

"Sounds to me like they're exactly the same," Lucy frowned. "I mean, both are the oldest, both have had a rough childhood, in a sense...both will throw their lives down to protect their family...and they hunt demons."

"But you said it yourself, there are differences," Luke added. "Dean just has Sam, and they can pull up stakes and go wherever. Max is different...she's got us, this building, her job...she can't just pull up stakes and vanish."

"No one can ever really vanish, Luke," Lucy said, then frowned, "Unless, you know, they're dead, and hidden, or the government re-located them...but they're always found eventually."

"You really need to meet the Winchesters," Luke shook his head. "Otherwise known as Federal Wildlife Service's Agents Ford and Hamill, Bert and Hector Aframian...no, wait, that was Dean and his dad..."

"Okay, so they're really good liars," Lucy sighed. "And you never worry that they'll get caught?"

Luke shook his head; "They're good. Really good...Dean and Sam have been doing this stuff their whole lives...and Max...well, sometimes we call her the world's greatest actress..."

Lucy nodded at that, "I'm gonna get a soda, want one?"

"No, I'm good," Luke nodded, and watched Lucy as she walked downstairs toward the kitchen.

Luke sighed, relaxing on the sofa. Of course he was worried that some day their luck would run out...he just wanted to hang on to the illusion that they'd never get caught. _Everything else has gone to hell...gotta have something to keep me sane._

"Did I scrape another nerve?"

Luke jumped slightly, "Huh?"

"You had that far-away look on your face," Lucy said, standing at the top of the stairs. "I got you a soda anyway...in case you changed your mind."

Luke took the can, and stared at it. "I can't even drink a can of Mountain Dew...something is seriously wrong here."

Lucy shook her head, "Look...if you don't wanna discuss this anymore...it's fine by me...come to think of it, it was probably none of my business to begin with..."

The ringing telephone cut her off.

Luke grabbed it from the coffee table, and answered it, "'Ello."

"What? No Zach Addy answer this time?" The familiar voice laughed.

"Max, we were just talkin' about you," Luke grinned as well.

"I hesitate to ask."

"Long story," Luke explained. "So what's up? You on your way home?"

"Er...no," Max said, walking along the dirt road, a foot or two behind the Winchesters. "We went on a hunt...and boy was that a gem."

"Do tell."

Max outlined the situation, from breaking into the house to Dean shooting a clown and finishing off with the ditching of the van. "And some dumbass hunter wanted to take the _Falcon_!" She shouted so Dean could hear.

"Bite me O'Reilly!" was the response.

Max bit the air, glaring at him.

"I take it things are not going smoothly...at all," Luke said, the only thing he could think of.

"Understatement," Max answered.

"So...ah...what are you dealin' with?" Luke asked.

"Well, the general theory is that it's a person or creature," Max answered. "To quote the fearless leader, 'that rock salt hit somethin' solid.'"

"Okay Max, knock it off!" Dean snapped.

"Ah shut up," Max snapped back. "Converse with your brother, while I converse with mine!"

"Ouch," Luke said.

Sam frowned, watching the two of them. He pulled out his cell phone, and began dialing.

"Who you callin'?" Dean asked.

"Maybe Ellen or that guy Ash'll know somethin'," Sam said. He paused for a second, "Hey, you think, ah...you think Dad and Ellen ever had a thing?"

"No way."

"Then why didn't he tell us about her?"

Max took a few steps back, biting her lips shut. She knew something was coming, and muttered into the phone, "Great...ringside seats."

"Uh-oh..." Max could hear the frown in Luke's voice.

"I don't know," Dean answered, "Maybe they had some kind of fallin' out."

"Yeah..." Sam agreed. "You ever notice Dad had a fallin' out with just about everybody?" It was silent as they kept on walking. "Well don't get all maudlin on me man—"

"What do you mean?" Dean asked.

"I mean this strong, silent thing of yours, it's crap—"

"Oh god..."

"Luke, I gotta go," Max muttered.

"What? I don't get to hear the fight?" Luke whined.

Max clapped her phone shut, and kept her short distance.

"This isn't just anyone we're talkin' about, this is Dad! I know how you felt about the man!"

"You know what, just back off, all right? Just because I'm not caring and sharin' like you want me to—"

"No, that's not what this is about Dean! I don't care how you deal with this, but you have to deal with it man! Listen, I'm your brother, all right, I just wanna make sure you're okay—"

"Dude, I'm okay!" Dean shouted. "I'm _okay!_ Okay? I swear, he next person who asks if I'm okay, I'm gonna start throwin' punches! These are _your_ issues, quit dumpin' 'em on me!"

"What are you talkin' about?"

"I just think it's really interesting this sudden obedience you have to Dad, it's like 'Oh, what would Dad want me to do?' Sam, you spent your entire life sluggin' it out with that man! I mean, hell, you picked a fight with him the last time you ever saw him, and now that he's dead _now_ you wanna make it right? Well, I'm sorry Sam but you can't. It's too little too late!"

"Why are you sayin' this to me?" Sam asked in a choked voice.

"Because I want you to be honest with yourself about this! I'm dealin' with Dad's death!" He watched Sam for a minute, "Are you?"

Sam stared at him for a few seconds, then glanced at Max. She averted her gaze, and put her cell phone back in her pocket.

"I'm gonna call Ellen," He said in a low voice, then turned away, making the call.

Dean shook his head, sighing. He glanced at Max, "You got somethin' to add?"

"Nope, not my place." Max told him, "Your father, not mine."

* * *

"Thanks a lot," Sam said later. "Rock-Shassa."

"What's that?" Dean asked him.

"Ellen's best guess," Sam explained. "It's a race of ancient Hindu creatures, they appear in human form. They feed on human flesh...they can make themselves invisible, and they cannot enter a home without first being invited."

"Same as the _Buffy_ version of vampires," Max chimed in. "So they dress up like clowns, so the children invite 'em in."

"Yeah," Sam nodded.

"Why don't they just munch on the kids?" Dean asked.

"No idea," Sam said, "Not enough meat on the bones maybe?"

"What else you find out?"

"Apparently, Rock-Shassa's live in squalor...they sleep on a bed of dead insects."

"Nice."

"Yeah...and they have to feed a few times every 20 to 30 years...slow metabolism I guess..."

"That makes sense, I mean, the carnival today, the Bunker Brothers in '81—"

"Right, and probably more before that."

"Hey guys, who do we know that worked both shows?" Max asked.

"Cooper?" Sam said.

"Cooper," Dean agreed.

Sam shook his head, "You know, that picture of his father...that looked just like him—"

"Think maybe it was him?" Dean asked.

"In the man's defense, look at my family," Max pointed out. "'Course, who knows how old the guy is..."

"Ellen say how to kill 'em?" Dean asked.

"Legend goes, a dagger made of pure brass." Sam answered.

Dean thought for a second, "I think I know where to get one of those."

"Well...before we go stabbin' things into Cooper, we're gonna wanna make damn sure it's him," Max reminded them.

"Ah, you're both such sticklers for details," Dean rolled his eyes. "Alright...I'll round up the blade, you and Sam check to see if Cooper's got bedbugs," Dean replied.

* * *

Sam forced open the door to Cooper's quarters, Max right behind him. They walked right in, and closed the door behind them.

"Okay...you cut open the mattress...I'll keep watch," Max said, stopping dead in her tracks.

Sam raised an eyebrow at her reaction, and walked over, kneeling by the mattress. He glanced at her, pulling out his knife, "You're not comin' any closer, are you?"

Max shook her head nervously, "No, I'm fine."

"What? You got something against bugs?" Sam smirked.

Max shuddered.

Sam wanted to laugh out loud, "You're scared of bugs?"

"Not..._scared_...I just don't like 'em..." Max said, "And you're supposed to be cuttin' into that thing!"

Sam shook his head, and couldn't keep the smile from his face.

The smile faded when he heard the click-clack of a gun, and Cooper's voice, "What do you think you're doin'?"

* * *

"I got all kinds a knives," The blind knife-thrower said. "Don't know if I've got a brass one though." Dean followed him inside, and the guy tapped his cane on the trunk, "Check the trunk."

Dean opened it, and after moving a few things around, found a discarded clown costume. He picked up the red wig, that jangled, and turned the man, "You?"

"Me," He removed his glasses. His eyes had a different color to them, and his mouth curved into an inhuman smile. Then he vanished into thin air.

Dean then went for the door, which was locked. He dodged two knives, then shouted, "All right!"

The door opened, and he barreled through it, and ran out into the fair grounds.

"Hey!" Sam called out.

"Hey," Dean said, walking over to him and Max.

"So, Cooper thinks we're peeping Toms, but it's not him," Sam smiled, "Much to Max's relief."

"Sam, I'm gonna—"

"It's the blind guy, he's here somewhere," Dean answered.

"Did you get the brass—?"

"Blade? No, it's just been one of those nights."

"I got an idea," Sam said, "Come on."

The two followed him into the fun house. Sam ran ahead, and two doors automatically slid shut behind him.

"Sam!" Dean yelled, arms pounding the door.

"Dean!" Sam called back.

Dean tried to force the door open, as Sam called out, "Dean, find the mange okay?"

"I never liked fun houses," Max grumbled.

"Come on, Max, can't you open it?" Dean snapped.

"Oh sure, let me find my crowbar!" Max snapped back.

"I meant with the psychic thing!"

"I'm telepathic, not telekinetic!"

"Hey, Sam gets visions, and he's a spoon bender—"

"Fine, we'll just send him a vision of you dying and we'll be through the door in no time," Max snapped, as she headed in the opposite direction. "And I'm _not_ a spoon bender!"

"Psychic, spoon bender, same thing," Dean rolled his eyes.

"No, its not!"

* * *

Sam reached the pipe organ, which emitted steam from the top row of the tube-like structures. _Brass blade..._he reached for one, then got burnt by the steam. Sam grabbed one of the lower ones, and pulled.

"It's not the same, Dean!"

"Spoon benders bend them with their minds!"

"So what? People see the future with their minds...doesn't mean they bend spoons!"

_Oh god, kill me now..._

Dean and Max came around the corner, and walked up to him. "Hey."

"Hey...where is it?" He asked, yanking the piece of brass free.

"I don't know, shouldn't we be seein' it's clothes walkin' around?"

"Yeah, because it can only turn it's body invisible," Max groused.

"Well jeez, it's not like—"

Dean was cut off when a knife flew out of nowhere and pinned his sleeve to the wall. Another flew, landing lower, both keeping his arm against the wall. Struggling, he snapped, "Sam!"

Sam and Max dodged more flying knives.

"Dean, where is it?"

"I don't know!" Dean snapped, then looked around. He saw a lever above him, and pulled it.

Max flattened herself against the opposite wall as the steam output increased. The steam made contact with the demon, and made him visible.

"Sam, behind you! Behind you!" Both Dean and Max yelled out.

Sam sent the brass into something behind him, and twisted it in as deep as he could before letting go.

Dean pushed the lever back into place, and was able to pull the knives out of the wall.

The creature's clown costume was lying on the floor, the only thing remaining.

The three stood there, for a minute.

"I hate fun houses," Dean said.


	9. Chapter 9

"You boys did a hell of a job," Ellen said, putting two beers in front of Dean and Sam. "Your dad would be proud."

"Thanks," Sam said, grabbing the bottle.

Dean's gaze was on Max, who sat across the way, at the other side of the bar.

"I'm not an oil paintin' Dean," Max said, "Nor am I gonna do a trick."

Dean got to his feet as Jo walked up beside him. He walked over to sit next to Max, leaving the blonde standing alone. She turned on her heel, and walked away, going to clear tables.

The side of Max's mouth curled up in a smile, then she let it slide before Dean could see. "Yes?" she asked, turning to face him.

"Max...ah..." Dean began, then looked at Sam pointedly.

Sam got the hint, "Oh yeah...I have to...I have to go..." He looked around, "Over there...right now." He got up and walked across the room.

Max smiled again, "Smooth one Winchester. Smooth."

"Yeah well," Dean shrugged. "Look...these past couple of days...we've been..."

"At each other's throats?" Max supplied when he didn't seem to find the words.

"I was actually gonna say buttin' heads, but that works too, I guess," Dean rubbed the back of his neck. "Look...I'm sorry...about what I said..."

"Which time?" Max asked.

"In the van...about your family," Dean said.

"Hey...Rosemary thought she was doin' the right thing..." Max shrugged. "Who knows? Maybe she was just waitin' for the right time."

"That why you aren't as wound up about it?" Dean asked.

"Hey, life goes on," Max said, "I'm still me...Max O'Reilly. And that's never gonna change...they'll have to kill me first."

Dean smiled at that, "So we good?"

Max thought for a minute, "Sure...at least for the next hundred miles." She smiled at Dean's confused face, then kissed him softly. She glanced at Jo, who was scowling.

Ash came out from the back room, and seeing the three hunters asked, "Where you guys been? Been waitin' for ya—"

"We were workin' a job, Ash," Sam told him. At Ash's confused look, Sam asked, "Clowns?"

"Clowns?" Ash repeated, "What the—"

"You got something for us, Ash?" Dean asked, as he and Max walked over to him.

As Ash set up his equipment, Sam asked, "Did you find the demon?"

"It's nowhere around," Ash said, "At least, nowhere I can find. But if this fugly bastard raises its head, I'll know." He typed a few keys on the laptop, "I mean, I'm on it like divine on dog dookie."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean," Ash elaborated, and showed them the screen. "If any of those signs or omens appear, anywhere in the world, my radar will go off...like a fire alarm."

Dean raised his eyebrows, and reached for the laptop, "Mind if I—"

Ash simply looked at him, then tapped the table.

"I think he minds, Dean," Max muttered.

Sam looked at him in disbelief, "Ash, where did you learn to do all this?"

"MIT," Ash said, "Before I got bounced, for fighting."

"MIT?" Sam repeated.

"It's a school in Boston," Ash told him.

"Okay," Dean said, "Give us a call as soon as you know somethin'?"

"Si, si, compadre," Ash answered.

The three exchanged glances, then put their beers down, and headed for the door.

Ellen spoke up, "Hey, listen...um, if you three need a place to stay, I got a couple a beds out back."

"Thanks, but no," Dean answered, "There's somethin' I gotta finish."

"Okay," Ellen nodded.

The door creaked as they walked through it.

* * *

_Full circle..._Max thought gazing out the window.

Dean had gone back to work, and was now lying underneath the Impala, two jean-clad legs and a pair of boots.

Sam had gone back to doing whatever it was he did to keep himself busy, and Max...

Max was once again wondering why the hell she'd stayed in the first place. A new question appeared in her mind though, why was she even needed?

She'd come home from a courier job, when Dean called and asked her to come. In all honesty, the three Winchesters could've handled the job themselves...Max was just the fourth person tagging along with the Three Musketeers...

Sam was down there. Max got to her feet, and decided to head downstairs. _Not sure why...it's not my business..._

* * *

"You were right."

Dean stopped what he was doing and looked at him. "'Bout what?"

"'Bout me and Dad." Sam explained, "I'm sorry that the last time I was with him I tried to pick a fight. I'm sorry I spent most of my life angry at him...I mean for all I know he died thinkin' that I hate him." He hesitated, "So you're right...what I'm doin' right now it is too little...too late."

Dean just stood there in silence.

"I miss him man," Sam continued, tears in his eyes. "And I feel guilty as hell...and I'm not all right...not at all..." He exhaled a shaky breath, "But neither are you...that much I know." When Dean didn't reply, he said, "I'll let you get back to work." He turned and headed for the door.

Dean watched him for a minute, then picked up a crowbar. He looked around, then slammed it into the window of a nearby car.

CRASH!

Sam froze in his tracks when he heard the glass shatter.

BANG!

Max appeared as that started, "What's…"

The banging continued. Sam pointed around the corner, and Max took a glance.

"My god…hell's frozen over," Max muttered; her voice was barely audible over the noise.

"Should one of us…?" Sam trailed off.

"I don't know!" Max sighed. "It's too late to save the trunk…wait until he stops beating the Impala."

"You think he will?" Sam asked.

The banging ceased, and silence resumed.

"You or me?" Max asked.

"He doesn't want to talk to me," Sam reminded her.

Max sighed, "I guess it's my turn then."

"What're you gonna say?" Sam asked.

Max paused, "Ah…let me get back to you on that." She silently made her way toward Dean, where he stood over the Impala, bracing himself against the trunk, breathing heavily. "Dean?" She asked quietly.

He looked up at her.

The look on his face made her freeze in her tracks. "I…uh…"

"There is nothing you can say to make this okay," Dean said in a choked voice.

"I know that," Max said, agreeing. "At least you don't have a bunch of fourteen-year-olds saying how sorry they are…God, that really got old…and then they said their parents told them if there was anything me or my brothers needed…yeah, like they would help."

"Max…I just…"

"You just wanna be alone," Max finished the sentence. "And then maybe tomorrow you'll add a sunroof to the car."

Dean glared at her, "That was not funny."

"Wasn't meant to be," Max said flatly.

"Look, Max, I'm fine!"

Max raised her eyebrows, and she eyed the hole in the trunk of the Impala.

"Max, I mean it," Dean said. "Look, just go back inside…I have to finish this."

Max folded her arms; "I'm not goin' away, Dean. Your problems aren't just going to go away over night."

_"Dammit Max! Just get the hell away from me!"_

Max's eyes widened at his tone, "Excuse me?"

Dean looked confused, "I didn't say anything."

Max wiped at her nose, and her eyes widened at the blood on her fingers. She looked back at Dean, and she gritted her teeth. "ARGH!"

Dean frowned when she ran into the house, still confused. He'd gone back to his work on the Impala, when Max re-emerged from the house, carrying her duffel bag over her shoulder. He walked over to her, "Max…where are you going?"

"I'm going home," She said, opening the door to her truck and tossing her bag inside.

"Why?" Dean frowned.

"If you wanted me gone, all you had to do was ask," She snapped, still pinching her nose shut. "Or...at least make up your freakin' mind! Want me gone, or not?"

Dean suddenly realized what she meant, and snapped back, "How about keeping your mind out of where it doesn't belong!"

"You think it's that simple, don't you?" Max snapped back. "You think it's easy trying to keep the shields closed? Think again buddy! Ever since that Thrall hatchling took control, it's gotten even harder! And a word to the not so wise, when I'm stressed, it gets even more difficult to control the damn shields!"

"So you can't control it?" Dean asked.

"Bingo!" Max snapped. "And big shocker, but you aren't making it any easier to deal with!"

"Glad to know my pain makes you stressed," Dean rolled his eyes. "Because it's always about Max now, isn't it?"

"Excuse me?" Max snapped. "How did I try and make it all about me? I don't want to hear what you're thinking. It's none of my business! And I've been having a hard time controlling it since that damn demon appeared."

"And what do you want me to do about it?"

"I don't care what you do!" Max shouted. "I'm not perfect. I don't know exactly what you're going through, but I do know you're being an ass!"

"I'm being an ass?" Dean shouted.

"Yes, you are!" Max snapped.

"Well you aren't the next in line for Miss Congeniality yourself, Maxie," Dean snapped back.

"Yeah? Well when I'm stressed, I get bitchy. Therefore, I'm going home."

"Yeah, 'cause your home's such a relaxing place," Dean rolled his eyes.

"At least there I'm not goin' stir crazy!" Max snapped. "At least there I can breathe!"

"If you find it so suffocating here, then why don't you go? I mean, hell, if you wanted to go home so badly, why did you even stay here in the first place?" Dean shouted.

"I'm still wonderin' why I'm here to begin with," Max snapped. "I mean, you three Winchesters could've handled the situation yourselves…granted, you would've still gotten your asses kicked, but you really didn't need me around to have that happen."

It was quiet for a few minutes.

Dean stood with his arms folded, glaring at the ground. He had to admit, she did have a point. They really hadn't needed her when they went after the demon. Hell, even Sam had asked why he'd decided to call her. He wanted to tell her why…planned to tell her why...but that wasn't what came out of his mouth…

And if Max was shocked to hear it, she didn't show it.

Hell, Dean was shocked he'd said it. He didn't mean to say it…it just came out. He braced himself for a hit, or a kick, possibly both.

Max's eyes were moist, but that was about it. "Fine…"

She was long gone when Sam finally came out again.

Dean sat in the Impala's front passenger seat, holding a small box. It was now blood soaked and was partially crunched. But still nestled inside, and perfectly intact despite what had happened to the box, was the silver Claddagh ring Dean had bought for Max almost a year ago.

"Dean?" Sam asked.

"Remember when I made that call?" Dean chuckled, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Hard to forget," Sam said, "After all, it was just over a week ago."

"The Demon was supposed to be dead by now," Dean sighed. "It was supposed to be over…and I was gonna ask Max to marry me."

"I remember," Sam nodded.

"I had a whole speech planned…sorta…I knew what I was gonna say to her," Dean rambled on. "And do you know what I said to her instead?"

Sam frowned, not liking the new tone in his brother's voice, "What did you say?"

"Not only lost one person…now I've lost two."

"Dean, what did you tell her?" Sam asked.

Dean didn't tell him what he said. He just closed the ring box, and tossed it into the glove compartment.

"Dean…that's probably not the best place to keep that," Sam pointed out. "And come to think of it…it's not really considered an engagement ring, is it?"

"Doesn't matter anymore Sammy," Dean sighed, and headed for the house, his last words to Max echoing in his mind…

"_Max…just go home…and don't come back." _


End file.
